A background assistant can prepare useful work while you are away. Start with a task where you can inspect both its draft and the action it wants to take.
The preview has a specific access boundary
Anthropic’s October 21 announcement introduces Claude Duet through a waitlist for US Pro and Max users. It describes standalone mobile apps and access through claude.ai.
Duet is a proactive agent with its own virtual machine and browser. It can continue work while the user’s device is off. The announcement says users cannot yet see its browser.
Read preparation and approval as separate stages
Anthropic says Duet can read and prepare work independently. Before sending a message, making a payment, signing a document, or deleting content, it presents the action for approval.
The company also describes actions that remain prohibited even with approval, including securities trading and transfers between accounts. Treat these as product boundaries when choosing a trial.
Its safety and testing statements are vendor claims. We have not tested whether the described safeguards hold across connected services or adversarial inputs.
Choose a harmless first workflow
I would start with a draft follow-up based on an authorized test thread. Keep sensitive customer material and live payment tools outside that first task.
- Confirm which connected app the task can read.
- Check that the draft accurately reflects the source thread.
- Inspect the recipient and final message before approval.
- Verify the actual outcome in the connected service.
- Disconnect the app and check the resulting access state.
A task-complete notification should lead to a checkable result. Save the source thread, approved draft, and final service record together.
Budget for the background work
Duet shares usage limits with the rest of the subscriber’s Claude plan. Anthropic says periodic connected-app checks and larger tasks consume that allowance.
Compare the account meter before and after a bounded trial. Record useful completed tasks beside usage, including checks that produced no action.
The announcement describes 1Password sign-in support and a richer Shopify editor as forthcoming. Keep those out of a current-feature checklist until access is documented.
The Dots permissions guide covers another proactive assistant. Our Muse Wonder article examines memory and connected access.
Read the sources and choose your next check
Which small task would let you verify the draft and final action without risking customer data?
Checked October 22, 2026. This article is based on source review and analysis. Suggested tests have not been performed by MustHave.ai.
